Leonardo da Vinci’s idea was to build a very powerful machine, which could throw eight large projectiles at the same time. He positioned eight long arms in a circle around a central pin, each of which had a sling capable of throwing a projectile attached to it.

This kind of project, where weapons were developed to hurl multiple projectiles to be more powerful, was common in Da Vinci’s time, because doing this meant creating more powerful weapons, simply by increasing their number and power, without the need to develop new building techniques and using familiar materials. They were therefore potentially attractive weapons because they were powerful, but they were also relatively inexpensive.

The invention that inspired this snap-together replica is taken from the pages of da Vinci’s priceless and awe-inspiring notebooks. The manual is very educational and teaches how this invention evolved over time.